Lawyers and a lead plaintiff who brought the Sheff v. O’Neill school-desegregation court case a generation ago are seeking to intervene in a new lawsuit challenging the use of race in enrollment decisions for the Hartford region’s network of magnet schools.

The Pacific Legal Foundation filed a federal suit in February alleging that efforts by the state to boost white enrollment in magnet schools violate the constitutional rights of black and Latino students who are turned away.

The motion to intervene was filed by lawyers and groups involved in the original Sheff lawsuit, including attorneys Martha Stone of the Center for Children’s Advocacy and Dennis Parker of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Program.